Tag Archives: Insulza

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) in a 300-page legal report published March 9th blasts the Organization for American States (OAS) for having lit the fuse that led to the deposing of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras on June 28th last year.

This statement is in perfect agreement with the position taken by the democratic institutions and the civil society of Honduras: If it hadn’t been for the OAS legitimizing Zelaya’s coup d’état with their unprecedented ‘Mission of Accompaniment’ to Honduras, the court and congress could have handled the matter with calm and let things play themselves out.

However, the act by OAS secretary general Insulza to send this mission to legitimize an unconstitutional referendum, already forbidden as illegal by the highest judicial authority in Honduras, was nothing short of a foreign illegal and hostile interference in a sovereign state. It was, in my opinion, an act of Cold War by Insulza against one of the member states of OAS.

HRF rightly calls for the resignation of Insulza. I would also like to see him brought to the International Criminal Court, and face justice, because his illegal actions has caused the death of a number of people in Honduras.

As regards HRF calling it a coup, that is subject to debate. They seem to fail to look at the overall picture, the purpose of the democratic constitution. It is as if in Sweden a court would rule on the letter of the law without looking at the preparatory works (förarbetena). I guess one could say that they are reading the law-book as the devil reads the Bible. However, that does not detract from the main conclusion: HRF has clearly given Honduras a big victory in its fight for international recognition of its democracy and rule of law.

Meanwhile, others continue with the same old, same old rhetoric on the alleged “coup” in Honduras, although as we know (if you have read my blog) that it really was an anti-coup.

Update 20:05 ET – Insulza just folded. They met half way, meaning that he will come along but only as an observer. A new date for the visit will be set in the next two days, according to a new press release from the Honduran foreign department, dated 2009-08-09.

Original text 18:16 ET – In a press release today, the government of Micheletti announces that the delegation that was to visit Honduras on Tuesday must change their plans. The reason is that the secretary of OAS, José Miguel Insulza, insists on participating and he is not welcome.

The initiative to the visit came from the new government themselves. The background is that no foreign diplomats have been briefed, still, by the democratic institutions of Honduras about the events of June 28, when Micheletti replaced Zelaya as president. The international community delegated to OAS (the Organization of American States) to do this, and their secretary, Insulza, went to Tegucigalpa.

However, during the visit he refused to meet with people who had come to inform him. He declared that he was not there on a fact-finding mission, but to leave an ultimatum: If Zelaya was not restored as president within 72 hours Honduras would be suspended from OAS.

After his departure Honduras itself left OAS, since they considered the organization compromised. OAS did not accept the resignation since they did not accept its government. Insulza’s report was the basis for suspending Honduras instead.

Oscar Arias later disqualified Insulza’s report, why Honduras has good grounds for accusing him for lack of objectivity, impartiality, and professionalism, as they do in the press release.

After the talks in Costa Rica under Oscar Arias stalled, Honduras suggested that Arias should send a delegation of foreign ministers to the country, so they could receive the briefing that Insulza had refused. It seemed clear the other day that the participants would come from Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico.

Insulza is, however, insisting that he himself also should participate, which now has led Honduras to announce that the delegation is not welcome as long as he is part of it. If he is replaced by someone else from the OAS, a new date can be planned.

Since the visit is a strong desire on the part of Honduras, the behavior of Insulza cannot be interpreted as anything else than a deliberate attempt at sabotaging the country’s desire to mend its broken diplomatic relations. The fact that this undermines the peace in Latin America seems to be of no concern to Insulza, who may have a good chance at getting re-elected next year with the support of Hugo Chávez and his coalition of countries with doubtful democracy.

The European Union, and its presidency country Sweden, does not seem concerned over these authoritarian tendencies, but appears to continue to have complete faith in OAS and Insulza. According to a source at the Swedish foreign department this policy is set by Spain, a country that allegedly has a large and sensitive oil-related contract with Venezuela.

Ulf Erlingsson

Purpose

This blog was originally set up to inform about the events of the political crisis in Honduras 2009, and that information can still be found in the archives. The content gradually shifted to debate reforms aimed at increasing democracy under the rule of law, and thus raise the standard of living for all in the country. Among the crucial factors for sustainable development we find science. It is maintained by Ulf Erlingsson, D.Sc.